Women and Work

Background

Women's participation in the labour market contributes
significantly to the Scottish economy.

However, for many women a range of barriers exist, preventing
them from achieving their full potential in all sectors and at all
levels in the labour market. Occupational segregation
features as a key characteristic of modern labour markets with an
associated tendency for the market to undervalue the jobs that
women do.

Tackling all forms of gender inequality and supporting women to
access and participate in employment is vital for the economy,
health, family life and the community.

This is a guide covering the key datasets that contain data
relevant to women's employment. It contains links to the datasets
as well as a description of the variables on women each holds.
There are also notes on each dataset on geography, methodology and
the other main topics covered.

This paper looks at 15 key datasets whish have a focus on
employment and compares the variable groups each survey includes. I
particular this guide sets out which variables are relevant to
women's employment. Some of the surveys covered by this paper
include the Annual Population Survey, the Annual Survey of Hours
and Earnings and the Census.

This guide lists data sources, reports, articles, websites and
other resources which provide information about different aspects
of women's employment and experience of work. Resources are grouped
by themes including Education and Learning, Patterns of Employment,
Issues in Work and Women in Business. Where available a link to the
website of the resource is provided as well as a brief description
of what it covers.

This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the evidence on
key issues related to women's employment. This includes patterns of
employment, earnings, issues in work, childcare and international
comparisons. This is an updated version of the evidence paper that
was produced for the Women's Employment Summit which took place in
2012. Where more recent data was available figures and charts have
been updated in this version.

As part of the marking of International Women's Day, the First
Minister will launch the evidence paper :- Maximising Economic
Opportunities for Women on 14 March 2015. Developed to inform
the Scottish Government's Council of Economic Advisers' discussions
on women in Scotland's economy, the paper sets out what we know
about women in Scotland's economy, the barriers women face and the
actions of the Scottish Government to address these within the
scope of the powers we have. Publication of the paper was
requested by the Strategic Group on Women and Work.